Each entry in the list is accompanied by a short essay written by a music critic. The entries are accompanied by pictures, quotes, and additional information (such as the album's running time and producer). Film soundtracks were excluded unless they consisted fully of original material by a particular artist, which meant that compilations by various artists were also excluded.

Originally published in 2005, the book was revised in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 to include newly released albums. The 2010 edition includes 25 albums released from 2005 to 2009, with the same number of albums removed from the first edition to keep the total at 1001.